He points to a new campaign by Washington Mutual, which was sold to JP Morgan Chase amid all the upheaval. What do you say to consumers? The creatives working on the campaign went for humor, Elliot writes, deciding on a headline reading “We love Chase,” followed by “And not just because they have a trillion dollars.”

The same challenge is playing out in the marketing department of virtually every financial institution. As the stock market swoons, investors are watching their paper losses mount and their retirement accounts dwindle. As the most trusted names in banking and brokerage have fallen like dominoes – despite reassurances from top executives that nothing was wrong – what message or slogan could possibly reassure a jittery public?

Screen Actors Guild leaders said they are confident union members will support authorizing a strike against major Hollywood studios if the issue is put to a vote, despite a faltering U.S. economy (Reuters)

Spending on global advertising is expected to grow 4.3 percent in 2008, less than initially forecast, with developed markets such as North America the hardest hit (Reuters)

CBS, Fox and the CW are off to the best starts in the new fall TV season, a new report from research agency Magna says (AdAge)

I believe we will see a larger shift into online advertising over the long run because of the ability to target their demographic better and the analytics they can use to watch performance. Overall, online advertising is the most cost effective form of advertising compared to traditional channels (print, radio, t.v., outdoor, etc..)